


Foolish

by sputnik



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Celtic Mythology & Folklore, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, M/M, Modern Fantasy, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 05:58:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9643547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sputnik/pseuds/sputnik
Summary: A male human let his tears fall onto the waves. And a male selkie foolishly answered his loneliness.





	

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His tears were dropping off his chin like the silent rain from the edge of the clouds; streaming down his reddened cheeks with no sign of stopping. His combed golden hair was slowly drooping down his forehead, enough to shade his squinting eyes and grimace. His body shook along with his sobs.

Those tears...they were calling for comfort, for love.

And Nile foolishly answered them.

Yes. Foolishly.

But he couldn’t help it, now, could he? After all, tears always call for him.

Human tears, that is.

Nile had been observing the man from under the wooden pier...watching as the shadow of his being loomed faintly under the dim moonlight beam. His tears fell gracefully into the sea water; casually floating in the difference of salinity before mixing all together.

And once they mixed, how could Nile tell the difference?

How could he tell that those tears were different than a maiden’s tears?

Foolish, indeed.

However, the more Nile look and listen, the more pity he felt for this man. Did he lost a bet, lost in a competition perhaps? Were his parents sick? Did his dog or horse died? Or was he...was he heartbroken by love?

That couldn’t have been possible. Not to Nile’s knowledge, at least.

Humans do strive for love, yes. But for both genders, they work differently. Men would seek love he cannot get. Women would seek love she cannot find. Men would set traps and make deals for love and Nile would give it. Women...well, women would shed tears and pain for love, and Nile would find it.

But now...he wasn’t so sure anymore.

He could just return to the sea and forget about the misunderstanding, and perhaps allow the human the time to calm down. But the more Nile inched away, the stronger the need to approach the man in distress.

Maybe...maybe for a while...

It wouldn’t hurt to meet the man, speak to him, now, would it? No matter how foolish it is.

Carefully and silently, Nile swam to where his body could feel the land. Once he felt the coarse sand underneath his body, he stopped and turned his back against the beach; facing the star-filled sky.

With a quick, graceful movement, he opened up his skin from the inside; leaving a seamless line that went from his chin down to the end of his tail. One would have guessed this would be followed by blood and gore; innards sliding out and excruciating pain cornered him to scream...but no such thing happened.

Instead, what came out were a beautiful, strong pair of human arms; pushing out like a butterfly from its cocoon. Placing his hands onto the ground, with a bit of leverage Nile pushed his torso up; revealing a similarly strong human body and a human face that even Nile himself hadn’t seen before.

Nile sat up for a moment; feeling the skin on his soft chest and sculptured stomach with his fingertips and running the palm of his hands on the neat scruff on his jawline and the soft bangs that covered his forehead. No matter how many times he had observed humans from afar, whether they were roaming on land or on their ocean vessels, Nile still couldn’t help but be fascinated by their overall appearance.

The thought of it clicked Nile awake from the brief daydream, and he finished shedding his skin; which gradually transformed into a white long fur coat with brownish patterns similar to the one he had on his body when he swam in the water. As he stood naked in the dark wearing nothing but the coat, he glanced at the pier once more. True enough, the crying man was still there; standing against the wooden railings with his head low and facing his feet.

With his two muscular legs, Nile took careful steps towards where the man was standing and hoped that his sudden presence wouldn’t be pursued by a startle. In his short journey on the jetty, his train of thoughts kept chugging in and out of his mind; muttering questions Nile wasn’t sure the answer to.

What would the man do?

Would he capture him and force his hand in marriage; a mortal gesture his kind cannot refuse for thousands of years?

Or would he need embraces and comfort, and a night escapade under the moonlight to make him feel better again?

And what should Nile do? Follow every orders the man told him like a slave? Seduce the man to devour his human body until the morning comes?

Tell the man what he really is? Or keep it a secret for eternity?

Nile wasn’t sure.

As Nile reached a couple of gates away from the man, he stopped and muster the confidence he was taught when dealing with humans. With a smile plastered on his face, he greeted the man,

“Hey.”

The blond man looked up; barely surprised by Nile’s odd appearance. But Nile ended up being the one amazed. The sight of the man’s blue irises moisturized by the still welling tears in his eyes and the handsome facial structure almost equally matching Nile’s had him nearly stutter his next words,

“A-are you alright?”

Upon hearing them, the man quickly wiped his wet face with the back of his hands. “I...I’m okay. Please...jus-just leave me alone.”

“I can help to uh...to comfort you. Maybe you need someone to talk to and– “

“I said leave me alone! Go away! ...I...I don’t need help...”

The man started to sob again. This time he had his arms around himself shakily as he turned his back to Nile.

At first, Nile was confused. The elders had never told him of stories of his kind being rejected, or how to react to a rejection. The feeling of being offended crept in later; making Nile almost wished he didn’t risk coming out of his skin to confront this man.

But then...he saw it, and the slight anger dimmed into a slight guilt.

The crescent moon in the dark sky wasn’t enough to give Nile the adjustments he needed to confirm what he saw. Right from the back collar of his dress shirt to the end of where his shoulder blades were, was a large tear; as if someone had forcefully pull on it to prevent the man from running away. His supposedly neat trousers seemed like it had gone through a similar ordeal.

The man was still quivering and silently weeping when Nile slowly approach him, and carefully placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. He could almost feel the man flinch to the touch.

“...let me help you. You look hurt. I want to help you.”

The blond man shrugged Nile’s hand off. With a threatening voice, he lashed, “I told you I’m fine! Look, I don’t need your help, okay? Besides, we’re strangers! I don’t even know you! You came to me...wearing this weird long coat and telling me you want to help? Just...just go back to whatever crazy party you’re from...just go...”

If it weren’t for Nile’s strong pity for this annoyingly stubborn human, and his confusion to the continuous words spurted out to him, he would have just slap the blond headache right then and there...maybe even push him into the water while he’s at it.

With a huff, Nile grabbed the man’s right hand and squeezed it once firmly as a reassurance that he meant well. He didn’t know if this was a correct gesture that humans use, but as far as he was concerned, it barely differ since the time of his ancestors.

“My name is Nile. And you?”

The man looked at their hands locked in a handshake bafflingly, before shifting his gaze to Nile. For a moment, he seemed like he was questioning Nile’s sanity, with a hint of admiration and uncertainty for the odd person with jet black hair and peculiarly green irises. It took a few seconds for the man to reply,

“I’m...I’m Erwin. Erwin Smith.”

Nile smiled as he shook Erwin’s hand once and letting go; taking no note of the confusing look he was getting.

“Nice to meet you, Erwin Smith. See? Now we’re not strangers anymore.”

Again, Erwin looked at Nile and wondering if he had hit his head somewhere or was extremely drunk before their sudden encounter to be saying such childish things, even if he didn’t seemed like it. And, oh, how Erwin wished it wasn’t the latter...

He had one unfortunate moment enough with a drunk for the night, and he didn’t plan to be with another so soon.

Erwin frowned at the assumption he himself made, and was ready to leave his new acquaintance, when the shorter man suddenly embrace him. The hug was strong but soft enough to send a signal of support and a sense of security...no, it was more than those. It felt like...like love. Almost like seduction, even.

Nonetheless, it sent a jolt of panic in Erwin, and he could nearly feel himself breaking down again.

And Nile noticed it.

Suddenly Nile wasn’t sure if it would work out as he had hoped. Usually if a male human meets his kind on the shore, he would bound to make them their bride and would carry them back home. Or if his kind seduced an unhappy female human, they would fall head over heels for them in an instant and would spend the night or forever together.

These were what he knew, what he was taught for centuries.

But now he perceived that this human named Erwin had no intention to bring him home, nor was he in heat to ravish him in bed. None of his actions and body language added up. None of them was in line with the rules...

And Nile knew he had to do it. If he were to get the outcome of his risky effort, he might as well wage another risk on the table.

A risk that he had to reveal what he was far too soon. A risk that he would be captured and paraded and tortured in the hands of humans like how half of his ancestors were before. A risk that he would be rejected and left heartbroken for the rest of his life.

But if there’s still a chance that the outcome would be splendid...

“Let me make you forget your tears...let me make you happy.”

Those words stopped Erwin from fighting to free himself and his figure slouched a bit in Nile’s arms. Now that Nile knew he had the blond soothed down, he gradually backed away from the hug and the handsome grin he displayed earlier returned to his facade.

“Let’s go for a swim.”

Once more, for the second – perhaps the third time that night, Erwin had that suspicious look on his face. He seriously thought this Nile character was shiftily too strange for someone like him to comprehend. First he appeared from the dark, telling him that he could help him...and now he was inviting him to dip in the water?

“Wait...how – why a swim? If you’re trying to play tricks on me –”

“I’m not. Swimming makes me feel good...and I’m sure it’ll do the same to you too, Erwin!”

Nile gave out a sweet giggle that made Erwin blushed slightly in embarrassment...or was it the thrill? The thrill that he was literally pulled to and running together with this man in a white fur coat towards the end of the pier. The thrill that he was about to splash into the cold dark water with his clothes on...

“W-wait! Nile! We have to take off our clothes before we can jump in!” Erwin frantically spoke out, as their steps got faster and faster. Erwin kicked his shoes off from his feet because with the speed they were running, he couldn’t tell if there would be time enough for him to do so.

“Especially you! Your fur coat...it’s going to be heavily soaked...it’ll be ruined!”

“Don’t worry about it, Erwin! If I take off my coat now, I’ll be naked as a baby.”

“You’re naked?! Under that coat?! So all this time...when you hug me...you were naked?!!” Erwin exclaimed; the redness on his face got more obvious.

Nile laughed at Erwin’s reaction. “Like I said, don’t worry! Besides...I need my coat to swim.”

“W-what...? That doesn’t even make any sense! What do you mean you need–”

Erwin’s question drowned in a gurgle as his entire being met the surface of the sea. His body dipped in a few ells into the water and he carefully hoist his body up to get the air he didn’t exhaled before the jump. When he had the air he needed and his face wiped from excess salt water; body fully buoyant with the help of his arms and legs, he looked around for Nile.

He was nowhere on the surface.

“Nile? Nile?! W-where...where are you?!” Erwin called out; hoping that Nile hadn’t drown in the darkness. He looked around again but with the dreadful shadows and the soft ambient waves, it was pretty difficult to see or hear the other. His thought that Nile was going to jump on him and surprise him slowly diminished into slow dread.

He didn’t know why he was worried, for he had only met the stranger less than twenty minutes ago. But the fear was real and Erwin needed the assurance that Nile was safe...somewhere.

In his anxious search, Erwin dropped down into the water once again; eyes wide open and alert for any movement in the dark.

Then there it was. An unusual white glow in a near distance.

At first, Erwin wasn’t certain what it was. It was a white fade among the darkness of the sea, and it almost looked like Nile’s ridiculous long coat. Then slowly, gradually, it took shape, as it drew closer to him.

Erwin was half expecting Nile, of course, but he was also half expecting something dangerous, like a shark. He braced himself just in case it was the latter; ready to push himself up and swim towards the safety of the shore.

As his eyes adjusted in the blurred sight and the dim lightings, he could make out what the white glow was.

It was a seal.

A huge white seal with faint brownish spots.

The animal was dashing straight towards Erwin that he wildly trash about in the water in alarm, and resurfaced. As he hovered and taking in quick whips of breath, the seal resurfaced as well; enough to reveal its whole head to Erwin.

There was a sliver of silence between them as they stared into each other’s eyes. Erwin remained uncertain at first, but then he noticed...those glinting eyes...

The seal’s irises...they were green.

The same peculiar green that his newfound friend possessed.

“...N-Nile?”

The seal tilted its head to the left a bit and Erwin swore he could see the smile in its eyes.

“Nile, is it...really you?”

The seal gave one or two approving barks and circled around Erwin. As much as Erwin wanted the questions in his head answered and the confusion on what was going on clarified, he couldn’t help but giggle at the way the animal was treating him – playing with him.

Using its nose, the seal nudged at Erwin’s nape; as if to guide and encourage Erwin to swim with it. And Erwin didn’t hesitate. The seal, or Nile in fact, jumped back into the water; sending a splash to Erwin’s face. Erwin gave out a few chuckles at the childish gesture and followed suit.

Erwin was unsure how long he had been swimming and trying to catch up with Nile’s graceful yet playful moves. It could have been hours considering how wrinkled his fingertips were, but Erwin took no heed. Nor would he want to recall the events that came before, the stupid trust he placed to allow him to wind up at the pier in the first place...

Right now, all he was thinking of was to be happy. And Nile was truly helping him with that.

He swam enough until his legs and arms felt heavier; a sign that his body was undeniably tired despite the fun he was having. He was about to holler for Nile, to tell him that he wanted to call it a night, when Nile appeared right in front of him. Nile barked and shifted so his back was towards Erwin.

“You...you want me to hold on your back?” Erwin contemplated for a moment; after all, as far as he had learnt in school, seals tend to be pretty slippery. Nevertheless, he wrapped his arms around Nile’s neck and hoped for the best.

“Don’t, uh, let me slip away in the water...it’s pretty dark down there.”

Nile wiggled slightly as to assure that he got his friend’s back. Erwin inhaled as much air as he could, before Nile jumped back into the water; dragging Erwin along with him.

They swam to a depth Erwin was unsure of, bulleting through the sea water and scaring the fishes that swam in the dimness. For some reason, Erwin trusted Nile; he trusted that the other wouldn’t let him drown nor would he leave him in the middle of nowhere in the night...still, the fear was there, and without realizing, he hugged Nile a little tighter.

Nile took it as a sign that Erwin might need air and he took his distance before shooting out to the surface. The sheer force of it comically threw Erwin off his back and Erwin yelped as he flew a few feet above the water and landed back in in a rather ungentlemanly way. A few seconds later, Erwin resurfaced; taking in as much air as he could, as he looked around confusedly.

Erwin noticed they had been far off in the middle of the calm sea, with nothing in sight but a large rock not too far from where he was floating and the small balls of light from the town further away.

Nile came up soon after with a guilty look on his face. Erwin didn’t exactly know how he could tell that Nile was apologizing to the feat. Perhaps it was those green eyes, glistening in such a surreal way under the moonlight. Erwin, however, didn’t feel any resentment towards his newfound friend. His initial giggles at the amusement of it all gradually turned into laughter.

Perhaps it was true after all, that swimming did make him feel good.

“That was amazing! How did you – I mean, what are you? You’re like a...a mythical creature...like the ones I read about when I was a kid. About Greek Gods and Norse heavenly warriors...” Erwin looked into the seal’s eyes, somewhat mesmerized by them. “Are you a mermaid, Nile?”

Of course Nile couldn’t respond in his animal form, so he only shook his head. But that question seemed to flip a switch in his head and he thought, perchance, he could continue to amuse this man.

Nile nudged his underbelly towards Erwin, and Erwin learnt the meaning of the gesture quick. He smiled and wrapped his arms around Nile’s torso; taking a deep breath before Nile could plunge into the ocean once again. Erwin tried to open his eyes in the water this time, and as he did so with a squint, he was greeted by the magical sight of Nile’s glowing fur.

Nile was facing the surface, facing Erwin, and Erwin swore he could see a cute smile on his face despite the salty water preventing him from opening his eyes underwater for more than ten seconds. As they once again move against the currents, in between closing and opening his eyes, Erwin observed this mystical being in his embrace doing the very thing that could answer his very question.

There was a seam opening from the chin of the seal to its chest, and as morbid as it sounded, a pair of strong human arms slowly emerged from the slit; pushing forward and wrapping around Erwin’s neck. Nile used the muscles of his arms to haul himself out of his own seal skin – which miraculously changed into the hood and the upper part of the white fur coat he had on when he was walking on two legs – and presented his sculptured torso and handsome face to the man in his arms.

Though the blurriness was getting in the way of the glorious sight, Erwin could imagine that this enchanted being, this mythical creature, his new friend, Nile...was the most beautiful thing he could ever lay his eyes upon.

_You can’t see me, can you?_

Erwin was undoubtedly surprised by that voice – Nile’s voice – resounding his head. And without thinking, he opened his mouth and accidentally swallowed a mouthful of seawater. The saltiness nearly choke him, and if it wasn’t for Nile’s arms holding him in reassurance that he’d be fine, he could have trashed frantically to the darkness.

Nile seemed to understand what happened, and immediately he held the other closer and planted a kiss on the space between his thick eyebrows. Erwin could feel a tingling sensation at the corner of his eyes and gradually, his vision started to get clearer. He could see the glowing fur that he had cuddled earlier, and in its light he could make out the outlines of the arms around his neck, the muscled body and the smooth skin...

Most obviously, he could make out the attractive eyes and the sweet smile on Nile’s face.

After what happened...was it even possible to fall in love again?

Without a moment’s hesitation, Nile pulled Erwin closer once more and this time, he locked his lips with his. It took Erwin by surprise, but soon the feeling of calmness soothingly filled in. He could feel the saltwater steadily dissolve in his mouth and the sensation of fresh air blew in; deterring him from gagging for oxygen like he did earlier.

The bit of saltiness still lingers in the pleasant warmth of Nile’s mouth and Erwin almost wished that that kiss could last longer. When Erwin sensed that his lungs puffed with fresh air again, he moaned and breathed into Nile’s mouth, and Nile took it as a sign to stop.

_I thought you might need the extra air...I still have more to show you._

Was it really possible that he was in love with this creature?

Nile giggled and Erwin returned it with a sheepish grin. Nile let go of Erwin and entwined his fingers with Erwin’s hand, and led him to where Erwin supposed was the rock that he had seen earlier.

The blackness of the sea was rather scary despite the clearness of his vision and the bottom half of Nile’s body, which was still in its animal form, providing enough illumination for Erwin’s eyes to adjust to it. In retaliation to the fear, he held on Nile’s hand tighter.

_I won’t let you go. I promise._

Nile smiled once again. As they swam under the waves, Nile closed his eyes momentarily and slowly but surely, the fur he had on his body started to shine brighter. And for the first time since they had themselves soaked in the cold sea, Erwin could see fishes of various colours swimming above and below them more distinct than ever. The radiance lightened the around them and Erwin could identify the rock just ahead of them.

There was nothing particularly special about the rock nor was it as dull as it seemed from the shoreline. It could be limestone, granite or sandstone but it didn’t matter that much to Erwin, as he softly touched the flailing seaweeds on the rock.

As assured, Nile held on and guided him while they circled around the rock once, maybe twice, witnessing the beauty of the small community of corals and sea creatures that are barely visible in the brightness of Nile’s fur and the glistening reflection of the moonlight on the sea waves. These unknown marvels boomed in Erwin’s eyes in such surrealism that he had to wonder what he did to deserve this beauty.

What he did to deserve to fall in love to someone else.

Sure, he had yearned for his affection to be mutual. For that person to vow everlasting love with him. But all his desires were crushed with one angry misunderstanding, followed by one avoidable fight, and finally one heart-breaking confession. If he had stopped the first time...what occurred earlier that night wouldn’t exist.

Sure, he wasn’t the one to be solely blamed for what happened, but to some extent, he did provoke it.

As if his brief thoughts had send a sad signal to Nile, Nile held on Erwin’s hand tighter. As if he understood what had transpired before. Erwin turned his head and their eyes met; with Nile’s irises sparkle with empathy and Erwin’s shaded with remorse. Anguish. Shame.

Nile gave out a small smile and led Erwin to a part of the massive barnacle-ridden rock where he could step on. Erwin followed and carefully made his way out of the water, and climbed up the intact boulders. He settled down on the highest peak and watched as Nile elegantly stripped off the remaining skin he had waist-down. It took a while for it to click in Erwin that his companion was buck naked underneath the mystical seal fur, and he quickly and bashfully averted his eyes away.

Nile wrapped his human body with the white fur coat he sported before and sat next to where Erwin was; the friendly smile never left his face.

“I’m glad that made you happy, Erwin. You...you are happy, now, right?”

Erwin gave a small laugh. “I am. It was...it was fun.”

Their conversation strangely ended there. Both Nile and Erwin simply listened to the soft waves in the dimness of the early morning. The sun would soon be rising, and in the ocean scented waft, they silently waited for it.

Nile wasn’t sure if he should say something to the human who had called for him with his tears.

Should he really explain what he is, and why he had come to show his true self to Erwin? Can Nile even tell Erwin that he expected him to take him home and live the rest of their lives together, or at least a one night stand before the sea requests him back? Could Erwin comprehend the real reason Nile was there?

However, before Nile could say anything – as if the wind had encouraged his words to flow out – Erwin began to speak,

“There was someone I admired. We were childhood friends. Best friends. He was tall...with a neat beard that matched perfectly with his attractive face...golden eyes and...”

Erwin fell silent for a moment, seemingly trying to recollect what good memories he remembered of his crush. But what ran swiftly in his head about the subject matter was no longer something that he wanted to keep. Nonetheless, he continued, and Nile quietly listened to him.

“I confessed my love to him, but it was too late. He already had someone else. Someone he would marry very soon. But I...I didn’t give up. I did many things...many horrible things...just to get his attention at me. I caused his relationship with his partner to crumble....and...

“...just a few hours ago, we met. He was intoxicated....told me between sobs that he fought terribly with his fiancé. He blamed me and...well, this happened...”

Erwin tugged on the collar of his torn, wet shirt to emphasise what he meant. He smiled at Nile sadly, not noticing that his own body was shaking and his eyes were welling up with tears.

“It...didn’t go too far; thank goodness. Managed to run away before he could do worse. But it did left me scared. Heartbroken. But he has every right to blame me...I made their relationship crumble. Stupidly enough, I couldn’t accept the fact that he doesn’t love me...

“I deserve this pain, don’t I...Nile?”

Erwin didn’t notice that his cheeks were wet once more by the flowing tears. Though this time, he didn’t attempt to wipe them off. Nile, on the other hand, just observed him and listened to his revelations.

And those tears. They truly called for him.

Nile inched closer to his partner, giving a reassuring smile, before he kissed those lips again. He could feel that jolt of surprise from Erwin, yet Erwin let it ensue; slowly closing his eyes as his muscles relaxed and his fear dispersed. Nile broke the kiss after a while and they both sighed with relief.

Erwin opened his eyes and his view met Nile’s gorgeous face; freckled with just the hint of sunrise hitting his fair skin, his dark raven hair, his green irises, his sweet smile...

Was it even possible to fall in love again?

“What are you, Nile? A magical creature...a mermaid, perhaps? Or...

“Are you an angel?”

Nile’s smile got brighter and a child-like giggle escaped him. “An angel! You flatter me, Erwin. Unfortunately, I’m not that majestic.”

He knew he must tell Erwin what he was. Why he was there. What he expected Erwin to do, and what he expected to be done on him. At least before the sunrise plead for him to return to the sea.

“I’m a selkie, Erwin. With your tears, you called for me. For my love. And I answered it.”

The blonde man stared at Nile for a few seconds in utter awe. He was ashamed to admit that he never heard of a selkie before, but to see one in front of him now was no short of a miracle. Erwin couldn’t make out if this unusual but fascinating event was pure luck, or that he truly deserved a chance to be in love and loved again.

“Wow. That’s...umm...well...” Erwin stammered as the blush on his cheeks returned; unsure how to put his captivation in words.

“So...now that you’re here, Nile...what are you – I mean, what am I...supposed to do? Should I...I don’t know...pay you for the time we spend together, or should I take you to explore the land as a compensation?”

At this, Nile laughed a little louder than before; making the redness on Erwin’s cheek more obvious in the dim orange light of dawn. “No, you silly two-legs! You don’t have to do any of that!”

Nile held on Erwin’s hand and gave it a slight squeeze and continued,

“By tradition, male humans usually catch the female selkies and make them as their wives and mother to their children. As for the male selkies...well, they – we, often accompany and make love with the sad female humans till the sun rise, before returning back to the sea.”

Erwin almost looked like he wanted to protest to the traditions, and while Nile’s knowledge of humans was as scarce as a giant squid in the deep ocean is to land dwellers, Nile had a hunch that what he said might contradict to how humans of this era perceived in getting a love companion. Force someone’s hand in marriage? Prostituting for happiness just for one night?

Absurd.

“You’re...a male selkie...” Erwin began, after processing enough to comprehend what he was told. “Does that mean we must have sex? But that only works on women, right??...and I’m...”

A wide, almost child-like grin was stapled on Nile’s face as he watched his partner’s silly gesture of scratching his head and making faces as he tried to make sense of the moment. Nile inched even closer and landed another kiss on Erwin’s lips, and almost naturally, Erwin returned it.  

“I’m not forcing you to do either, Erwin. I understood what you’ve through. And I understand if you refused. Even if you agree to mate with me, I’m afraid we cannot do that. The sun is rising.”

As if on cue, a fine semi-circle reflection of the burning star shaped up against the horizon of the steady ocean. The clouds became clearer against a painted canvas of a blissful red and soft purple at the same time, as the night turned into day.

“The sun is rising.” Nile repeated, as he glanced at the brightening horizon. “It’s time for me to go back to where I came from.”

“But...! But can’t you stay, Nile? Must you return now?! D-don’t leave me!”

Nile chuckled and tugged on his white fur coat; seemingly ready to leap into the waters again. “Don’t worry, Erwin. I’ll swim you to shore and –”

However, before he could say another word or jump into the salty sea and transform back into the white seal he was before, Erwin’s strong hands gripped on his arm.

“No, that’s not what I meant! I...what should I do to make you stay with me...forever?”

Silence lingered between them once again, with green irises staring astonishingly at the determined blue ones.

“...you’re not serious...”

“I am serious! Tell me, what I should do! S-should I take you home...marry you? Tell me!”

“Well, that’s usually for female selkies...e-even so, you’re supposed to catch the selkie, not call for one...”

“But you _can_ break the tradition, right? I mean, humans do that all the time! Like...like a man falling in love with another man...that’s already against the rules and –”

“You’re in love with me, Erwin?”

Erwin’s face flushed as red as a rose in June. Was he really in love with this handsome man before him? Of course! Of course he was! But was it genuine? Was it for real? Was it forever?

He recognised how stupid it was to be falling for someone in mere hours. That wasn’t how love works. Erwin knew this. He fell in love before. For years, he tried to work it out. Albeit at the expense of losing trust and friendship along the way. Albeit the fact that it backfired. But Erwin learned from his mistakes, and he would continue to do so.

And if this given moment – Nile’s mysteriously intriguing presence – would help him stand up again at square one, who was he to say no?

With so many questions running in his mind, Erwin almost didn’t realize that he had been silent for a good one minute. Not too long for a full rejection, but Nile took those seconds as a sign that Erwin might need more time to think about it. After all, with the sun already forming a perfect circle on the morning sky, Erwin’s only option to prove that he was indeed in love was to bring Nile home. And that seemed almost impossible to happen.

Just as Nile nodded to show his friend that he understood how complicated this matter was, Erwin tightened his grip on Nile, with the determination that he thought he had lost prior to their meeting at the pier.

“We both know I cannot answer that...not until we know each other better...” Erwin took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, before he continued, “And that cannot happen if you leave me now, Nile. Stay with me.

“If you staying means that I have to take you home, then please allow me to.”

The selkie stared at the blonde human; trying to find what trickery he might be up to with such request. Humans may not change much in their lust and desire, but how and what way they did to reach those goals can be pretty mysterious. That was why

At that moment, Nile couldn’t tell if Erwin was being genuine, or was only acting upon the heartbreak he felt. Instincts told him not to be hasty in this matter, despite how the old customs between selkies and humans were.

But maybe...maybe...

If Erwin was truly sincere in this, maybe he could break tradition. What comes after, well, that would be something they both had to work on.

And as foolish as it seemed, this was the only way for their worlds to collide into one.

Nile gently pulled his arm back from Erwin’s grasp, and, without any warning, took off the fur coat he had on him. Erwin almost choked when he realized what the other was doing; conflicted between wanting Nile to not be naked, and yearning to see his perfect body again. Nevertheless, the former was stronger and awkwardly, Erwin tried to cover his eyes with his fingers.

“W-wait! Nile! What are you doing?!” Erwin exclaimed bashfully. “I thought you said you...w-we can’t have sex because it’s sunrise...! And I’m...I’m not ready, I mean, I don’t suppose we should do it on this rock or –”

“Here. Take this.”

Erwin peeked through his fingers and noticed that Nile had placed his white fur coat with the brown spots, nicely folded, on top of Erwin’s lap. Slowly he placed his hands down onto the soft clothing, and carefully averted his eyes towards his now nude companion. Nile only smiled and hugged his knees to his chest; covering what he could to maintain a sliver of modesty.

“I can’t just go home like that with you, Erwin. Humans capture us...trick us if they must...and if they wish to keep us for whatever reason, they would take our fur coat and hide them. So we won’t run away to the sea.”

“But that’s...that’s not fair!”

“I thought so too, at one point,” Nile said with a huge grin. “Nonetheless, you still have to take my coat. Think it as a symbol of you having me by your side.”

“That’s not making it any better, Nile! This is your...your magical seal...skin thing...I shouldn’t be –”

A soft, reassuring kiss. That was all it took to keep the blonde man from panicking.

“Hush, Erwin. You talk too much.”

Nile laughed once more, and as strange as it was, it did make Erwin feel a little less worried, and oddly content to be there by his partner’s side.

“I’m sorry. I just...I’m...” Erwin took yet another deep breath, before continuing, “You make me happy again, Nile. Thank you. I know it’s...sudden, maybe too fast, to be asking for a relationship. But I promise I’ll never make the mistakes I made to you.”

“Don’t worry about it. You called for me, remember? And here I am.”

Nile leaned against Erwin; resting his head on Erwin’s shoulder. They both watched the eastern horizon getting brighter as the morning emerged, silently. Though the silence was swiftly gone as the first few seagulls flew in their view and squawked to welcome the day. And Nile spoke solemnly,

“Ah, the sun is up. I hope now the humans are awake and ready to get to their boats. We could hitch a ride with them.”

“Can’t you just swim us to shore? Like we did before? I truly admit, you are a good swimmer...”

“Silly Erwin!” Nile giggled. “I’m a two-legs now. I can’t swim without my seal skin!”

“Then wear it!” Erwin shoved the folded coat towards Nile, though Nile didn’t take it and only smiled wider.

“If you give me that coat, you’re basically letting me go. Freeing me won’t guarantee that I will come back to you, Erwin...”

“You should have told me that before you give it away!”

“Well, too late for that now.”

Both of them looked at each other right after that for a good half a minute and Erwin finally breaking the staring contest with a hearty laughter of his own. Nile followed suit. It went on for a while, before Erwin gave out a relieved sigh, took off his wet shirt and handed it to Nile. “I know it’s soaked and might be smelling a bit like dried seaweed, but it’s all I can offer...since I can’t actually take my pants off. Besides, can’t get you prancing around naked in the human world.”

“I understand. Can’t let you and me be the talk of the town after your ordea– I...I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up...”

“It’s alright, Nile. I’m okay.” Erwin gave a nippy peck on Nile’s cheek, and this time it was Nile’s turn to blush.

“I guess we really have no choice but to wait for the boats to come now. Ah. But what should I tell the boaters or sailors? That I woke up on a rock in the middle of the sea with a man without his pants on?”

“We’ll think of something, Erwin.”

Another bout of peaceful laughter ensued. They knew what they would do once they live with each other, love each other. It would take time, definitely, though not as quick as this one night they accidentally spent together because of a foolish mistake.

A male human let his tears fall onto the waves. And a male selkie foolishly answered his loneliness.

Yes. Foolish indeed.

But Nile didn’t mind.

Nor did Erwin.

 

\---

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot is made for my selkie!Nile au. I have that headcanon that Nile is of Irish/Scottish descent (mainly because of his surname), so it's sort of fitting to add a bit of Celtic mythology in. However, I do apologise if my writing didn't seemed accurate on the selkie part. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed this!


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